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we live in a 8-year-old house with heavy clay soil. The garden fence that was put up when we arrived started rotting posts through after ~4 years, which we assumed was a bad\cheap batch of fence posts, but today one of the first posts we replaced it with has also snapped in the wind, rotted through at ground level.
So considering ripping the whole (~15m) run of fencing out and replacing it with a new fence. Its featherboard at the moment, but next door have a load of plants on their side of it, so I think I'd have to replace it with panels as I don't think I'll have access to re-do featherboard the whole way along.
My first thought was to use concrete posts, but looking on a few sites now there appear to be a bunch of metal "I beam" style posts that are a similar price, much lighter, and I'd guess a bit easier to install (might be able to hammer them in? Not sure on that though) - wondering in the STW hive mind if someone had done the job and had any tips
Stop putting panels and featherboard up, that's your problem right there. If it's windy hit and miss is your friend, you want to give it something to pass through rather than push against.
I have heavy clay, 30+mph gusts are normal, 1/3 of the post length is buried in postcrete, fence has been up 6 years easy and is still solid.
Either that or slot in concrete if you really insist on solid.
it is gusty (particularly today) but the issue isn't the force on the fence so much as the posts rotting through - we're relatively sheltered down here, not up on any sort of hill. I might look into a different style of fence but I think we may have to use panels as we only have reasonable access to our side of the fence (plants on the other)
Concrete posts are a good option, I did ours a few years ago and although hard work at the time, they should be there for a long time.
You can just repair the wooden fence posts with a concrete spur, I've done over 100m of fencing this way after 20 years when 50% of the 5" wooden posts were rotten.
Before:
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/1553/25278055861_3797fde994.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/1553/25278055861_3797fde994.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/EvJDkk ]Repairing Fence Post #1[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/1667/25371096405_676b940b2d.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/1667/25371096405_676b940b2d.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/EDXv3D ]Repairing Fence Post #2[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr
After:
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/1477/25003486689_58ebf90d5c.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/1477/25003486689_58ebf90d5c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/E6tpu6 ]Repairing Fence Post #5[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr
Was quite tedious, I did 2 or three in a day every weekend for several months, something like 50 in all.
@footflaps yeah we've been doing that but have done 6 of the posts already, and just considering ripping the whole thing out as it doesn't look as nice, and its a pita to do 🙁
I replaced a 14 panel fence where the wooded posts had rotted at their base. The wind blew along the fence rather than across it so we used to get a pretty ripple effect along the length as the panels swayed from side to die. I replaced the who lot with concrete posts and 6 foot wooden panels.
Sink the first post and prop it to stay vertical while the concrete around the base sets. After that it was - dig a small but deep hole for the next post, put the panel in place against the fixed post and push the new post hard against the panel while you concrete it in place. Using the panel to keep the posts vertical meant you could focus on just the front to back lean rather than all four directions. A lot easier than I feared with just me an a friend.
The biggest ball ache was removing all of the old concrete from under the ground left behind fromt he previous wooden posts. It looks like there was the fence I removed, another starting about a foot to the left of it and a third a foot to the left of that. Three concrete foundations out for each on I put in!
We had the I beam posts installed a couple of years ago when our 16 year old fence came down. A local company installed them and they've been solid. Quite a few neighbours have them too.
Timely post as ours is knackered too.
Neighbors on one side had already done as footflaps has and they seem solid and long lasting enough, they've just been (mostly) replaced as the panels themselves had rotted and were falling apart.
The other side is our responsibility, it's currently the featheredge that was put up when next door was built and looks s*** because one way or another every component is rotting. We're going to go with concrete posts, 1-2 concrete gravel boards as it slopes slightly, and then panels on that. That way it'll cost slightly more to do, but the only maintenance it'll ever need for the life of the concrete (i.e. several human lifetimes probably) is new panels which are cheap and a 5 minute job.
Concrete kick panels at the bottom. Definitely!! I forgot to mention those.
I also found that online prices weren't significantly different to New Forest Fencing who are based a couple of miles from here.
I have this summer just replaced all our rotted posts (every bloody post) I was going to go with concrete posts, but that’s a lot of (heavy) work and I’d probably have needed a skip for the rubble.
I used the method of screwing a lifting eye into the snapped post and lever out with a digging bar.
Those that were too rotten broke up pretty easily.
It meant not having to dig out the old concrete.
The replacement posts I left to soak in linseed oil, hammered them into place and most importantly built up the postcrete well above ground level. It’s quite impressive how soil level raises.
I actually re-used all the panels.
FWIW the quality of post and I suspect lack of nasty chemicals mean they don’t last long.
There is one wooden fence post in the garden that has been there since I moved in 18 years ago. The rest last a few years at a time.
Don't let water sit at the base of the post. Either bitumen paint or create a concrete haunch at the base that drains water away from the post.
My first property had wooden posts and I replaced most of them within 7 years (it was a new build).
When we moved into our next place I saw rotten wood posts and replaced them with concrete ones. All of the posts and most of the panels that I installed at the same time are still in place 22 years later.
I fitted a couple of the metal Durapost's last month to extend an existing fence. It was a lot easier than fitting concrete posts and hopefully a lot more durable than wood. It's too soon to tell if they're durable but haven't been damaged by the recent wind.
Bookmarking as I've got to re-do some fences in the spring!
What about using 100mm x 100mm Oak Fence Posts.
I don't like concrete and I don't like concrete kick panels as they block wild-life movement.
We had all of our wooden posts replaced with slotted concrete posts a couple of years ago, paid a couple of blokes to do it, took them a weeks and looked back breaking TBH, glad I delegated the task.
6ft Panels are cheap and easy to replace (but seem to last well), but shonky wooden posts are a very false economy IMO.
put the panel in place against the fixed post and push the new post hard against the panel while you concrete it in place
Maybe slack off a little while it sets? Shirley if it's done very tight then it'll be a PITA replacing the fence panel when the time comes.
I don’t like concrete and I don’t like concrete kick panels as they block wild-life movement.
You can just cut holes for wildlife.
I cut holes in our wooden gravel boards.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53438027228_4bf01ab679.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53438027228_4bf01ab679.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2pq8RK3 ]Hedgehog Highway[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr
We just did this - well, last year. We used metal fence post holders in concrete, which were very easy to install. The posts won't rot because they are above ground, but if they do they will be super easy to replace. We were going to go with hit and miss fencing, but in the end we only did one side so the sunlight can come through. This has made the garden much much lighter and the border that used to be damp and dark is now full of flowers. We've got roses, camelia, verbena and solanum all over and through the fence and they give flowers on both sides. It's a million times better than featherboard.
Another thing I learned - if you have to dig out a concrete lump it is back breaking unless you have a digging bar in which case it's a piece of piss. Took me a day to break up and remove one post the first time I tried with a sledge and a spade, the others with the digging bar were levered out in about 15 mins.
I've been replacing my fences with hedges. Also made of wood, but they don't mind if the ground is wet and you don't have to paint them. 🙂
Another option is to use steel post bases rather than concrete. As the wooden post isn't in the ground it is less prone to rotting and can be replaced without digging when it eventually does rot. It also uses less concrete and will, eventually, degrade back to harmless iron oxide.
As you can use shorter wooden posts (1.8 rather than 2.4m) and don't need postcrete it works out cheaper too. I had to dig and concrete a few posts near drains but found the metal drive in post bases faster to place, even when using a post hole digger. I definitely recommend buying the plastic block that sits in the post base for hammering in a the sledge hammer just smashed my attempts using scrap wooden blocks.
FWIW the quality of post and I suspect lack of nasty chemicals mean they don’t last long.
If you're using pressure treated timber its worth noting that there are various grades of treatment - not necessarily different chemicals but depending on how wet or dry the timber is when its treated you get different degrees of penetration of the treatment. You should use class 4 for anything in contact with/under ground - the trouble is places selling timber rarely state what class of treatment the timber has had. (I'm sure theres a higher grade intended for specification for civil engineering projects, railways etc but can't find reference to it just now)
It's also worth using posts that have been cut to shape before they were treated, so that you don't have an untreated cut end either burried in the ground or collecting rainwater at the top. Anything you paint on after cutting isn't going to penetrate in the same way and won't be as effective.
Concrete posts. Just don't crack them as water can get in and blow the rebar.
You can get concrete gravel boards with holes for hedgehogs
Another option is to use steel post bases rather than concrete.
As long as you're not hammering into clay filled with rubble.
Ask me how I know.
If you use concrete, ensure you're working in straight lines or 90 degree angles (I.e. You don't have a bend of some kind in your boundary) otherwise in high winds the panels will pop out by not sitting perfectly in the concrete groove.
Ask me how I know! (lost 2 an hour ago, need to work out if ill screw up the post by drilling into it and fixing a baton to make the panel sit more securely
I used an offset repair spike to repair a rotten post last year
Concrete posts are a good option, I did ours a few years ago and although hard work at the time, they should be there for a long time.
That's what I thought. Mine lasted 15-20 years before they cracked to the point where the reinforcement was exposed and they fell down. Don't buy cheap posts, it's not worth your time (or anyone you pay) putting them in. I should have known better but we'd just bought the house so had no spare money. Concrete isn't all equal, cheap posts have less cement in them and the concrete reacts faster with the CO2 in the air, so it's no longer alkaline and doesn't stop the reinforcement corroding and spalling off the concrete.
We used concrete recessed posts with cant rails, feather edge boards and gravel boards along the bottom.
All the look of a wooden fence with the longevity of concrete posts.
https://www.hnl-fencing.co.uk/product/concrete-recessed-posts/
70s Wimpy houses have great concrete posts, could stop a T74 with them. Probably about 150x150.
Bookmarked as the recent winds exposed some deficiencies in our fencing :-(. Anyone care to share how much they paid for someone to do the work? It looks like a bit much for me to tackle on my own.
Have fitted both concrete and metal 'I beam' posts. Concrete ones last ages (current ones are 25+ years and still fine) but are really heavy and a pain to fit without helpinghands. Metal ones were quick and easy to fit, require a much smaller hole which is useful. Have stayed in place in the really strong winds we have had for the last 2 years - time will tell if they are as robust as concrete, but if I were fitting more I would use metal again.